Acts 6:7

⁷ And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith. RSV

Acts 6:7 And the message of God kept on spreading, and the number of disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem; and [besides] a large number of the priests were obedient to the faith.

• • • Josephus mentions that ~18,000 priests served in rotating shifts.
    • Their conversions intensified opposition (e.g., Stephen's martyrdom, Acts 7–8), scattering believers to Judea/Samaria (Acts 8:1,4; fulfilling Acts 1:8). Persecution paradoxically propelled growth, as priestly credibility traveled with the dispersed.
    • They were also experts in the OT,which at that time was the only written word.
    • *These three verses form a refrain in Acts, marking key growth phases: *
      • post-deacon solution (6:7),
      • *after Herod's death (12:24), and *
      • during Paul's Ephesus ministry (19:20)